Air conditioning systems which are operable in a reversed cycle mode, for heating a served zone, as well as operable in the normal cooling mode, require the high side of the system to accommodate conditions not normally encountered in systems designed only for cooling. In order to reduce the danger of undesirable entry of liquid into the compressor(s) as a result of the increased charge of refrigerant, the use of a suction gas accumulator has become advisable. It has also been found that a system incorporating a plurality of compressors connected in parallel in the same system and which can be cycled separately, so as to function individually or collectively, provides an efficient and desirable method of varying the high side compression to match the load.
The overall object of the present invention is to provide an improved hermetic multi-compressor assembly suitable for reversible-cycle ("heat pump") applications, incorporating compressors of different capacities and having an internal suction gas accumulator through which the compressors are supplied, and which forms a part of a directed suction inlet system for one or more of the compressors. A further object is to provide an improved suspension system for a dual compressor hermetic unit.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon consideration of this disclosure.